Any reason to keep an ES Bar over a ES Light anymore?

[ANILE8]

I know I am very late to the party, but I just picked up a 36" ES Light for my beloved 660 Mag and am loving it.

The saw handles totally differently, I wouldn't have believed it.

The difference in weight was a very impressive 900g / 2lbs.

Should I still keep my standard solid core ES bar or sell it for a good price?

I know some will say to just keep it as a spare, but I could just go and buy another 36" ES Light as a back-up as I can't see myself ever wanting to use it again unless there is a very good reason to do so.

Am I missing something here and are there very valid reasons for preferring to use a solid core bar?

 

[Mad Professor]

Get the ES light spare and send the ES to me. I'll cover the ride.

 

[JustPlainJeff]

Every bar I buy now is the "light" bar. All the way down to my 20"s. No sense in carrying more weight than I have to.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Light bars of most brands, stihl, sugihara, Tsumura...kinda ruin normal bars for you...

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[trains]

yes, keep it, the ES is a well made solid bar, durable etc, albeit heavy.

enjoy the ES light, it transforms the 660 thats for sure.

 

[Derf]

The “light” bars aren’t as stiff as solid bars. Running them sideways felling trees and some people report they feel more “floppy”. Especially as you get into the larger 32” territory. If you’re used to man-handling / prying the wedge out with your bar, you’re more prone to tweak it. If you get yourself into a pinch, a light bar is more likely to bend, and, a light bar is more difficult to straighten. If you run a tree service company, the light bars just don’t hold up to the abuse / misuse the way solid bars do.
Those are the cons. The pros are that if it’s just you using it, 99% of the time you’re probably not in those situations, especially if you aren’t a full time logger in the PNW, and you’ll appreciate the weight savings.

It’s an interesting product. For the casual user / weekend warrior it’s extra money on upgrading a tool they don’t use too often. For the full-time logger or landscaping crew it’s just not as durable. But there’s a sweet spot in the middle for those who use their saws enough to justify the extra price, and who don’t mind the hit to longevity / durability.

 

[jp233]

The “light” bars aren’t as stiff as solid bars. Running them sideways felling trees and some people report they feel more “floppy”. Especially as you get into the larger 32” territory. If you’re used to man-handling / prying the wedge out with your bar, you’re more prone to tweak it. If you get yourself into a pinch, a light bar is more likely to bend, and, a light bar is more difficult to straighten. If you run a tree service company, the light bars just don’t hold up to the abuse / misuse the way solid bars do.
Those are the cons. The pros are that if it’s just you using it, 99% of the time you’re probably not in those situations, especially if you aren’t a full time logger in the PNW, and you’ll appreciate the weight savings.

It’s an interesting product. For the casual user / weekend warrior it’s extra money on upgrading a tool they don’t use too often. For the full-time logger or landscaping crew it’s just not as durable. But there’s a sweet spot in the middle for those who use their saws enough to justify the extra price, and who don’t mind the hit to longevity / durability.

This makes 100% sense to me from a technical standpoint, and cost/usage. Albeit I have no experience with the "light" bars.

I'd think about a light bar for a longer one on my 038 Super, hope it could run a 28-30" bar if needed for huge diameter but yeah would depend on felling vs bucking, with pinching in mind of course.

 

[ANILE8]

Thanks for all the advise guys. I think I will keep my solid ES bar as a 'just-in-case' back-up for now.

Probably not worth selling it for the price I would get, and worth keeping if only for the peace-of-mind assurance that it will never fail.

 

[lone wolf]

Thanks for all the advise guys. I think I will keep my solid ES bar as a 'just-in-case' back-up for now.

Probably not worth selling it for the price I would get, and worth keeping if only for the peace-of-mind assurance that it will never fail.

Especially since the prices on them keep going up.

 

[PV Hiker]

Having a spare means you'll never smuckup the new one. Murphy's law says..... sell it and sure as heck you have a oh crap moment. Your mileage will vary.